The hunt

We may have anti-lock brakes, computer-controlled seats and brilliant hybrid powertrains, but the winter mat may as well have been invented by the same guy who brought us the stone axe.

Turns out I’m far from alone in my frustration – after my story ran, hundreds of e-mails poured in from readers across North America. Some wanted to commiserate, others offered solutions.

Some of their ideas were ingenious. A few were a little insane.

One reader described making custom-fitted floor mat underpads from thick terrycloth bath towels that he cuts to fit his cars’ footwells. Several others evangelized about using newspapers as disposable foot mats (The Globe and Mail, I was informed, is less absorbent than the Toronto Star).

Another reader suggested electrically heated floor liners that could melt snow and evaporate run-off water. (If I ever get around to building my own R&D facility I may try this. We’ll see.)

I decided it was time to do my own winter car mat road test. Over the past few weeks, I tried out eight different floor mats in four different cars. The results ranged from nearly useless to virtually perfect. Two mats were good. Three were terrible. And there was one hands-down winner.

Fernando Morales

Kraco Deluxe

Four-piece set

Walmart: $24.97

The Kracos had the ugly, purposeful look of a Kalashnikov (a nasty, Russian-made rifle favoured by Somali pirates and Afghan mujahedin). Also like the Kalashnikov, the Kracos fulfilled their intended mission effectively, and at low cost. They kept most of the snow and water off the floors, and had deep ridges that contained melted snow. The sides have extended sections that you can trim with scissors to optimize fit. At just $25 for four mats, they offered a good price-to-performance ratio. The Kracos weren’t pretty, but once they were covered with slush, they looked fine. And they worked.

Verdict: Recommended

Fernando Morales

Autotrends

Universal fit diamond-pattern mat

Two-piece set

Parts Source: $24.99

This was a surprisingly good floor mat. The raised-diamond texture kept my feet above the water that collected in them, and the texture was perfect – unlike many of the other mats, my feet didn’t skid on these. The backside of the mats has small teeth that grip the carpet beneath, so they stay in place. Since they’re universal fit, they can’t be perfect for all cars, but there are strips on the side that can be trimmed to fit your car’s foot well. For the price, these were excellent.

Verdict: Highly Recommended

Fernando Morales

Rubbermaid

Automotive floor mat

Driver’s side only

Canadian Tire: $18.99

I bought these because I’ve had good luck with other Rubbermaid products. But my hopes were quickly dashed – the mat didn’t work nearly as well as my Rubbermaid trashcans or kitchen containers. It didn’t fit any of the cars I tried it in very well, and the mat was relatively stiff, making it tough to fit it beneath some of the car’s accelerator pedals. It was slippery underfoot, and a lot of melted snow slipped over the sides. And at $18.99 for a single mat, the price was relatively high.

Plasticolor

Team Canada mat

Two-piece set

Canadian Tire: $44.99

As a patriotic Canadian and hockey dad, I couldn’t resist these mats. Every time I looked at the molded-in logo of a hockey player, I thought of my son Will, who introduced me to the game through his career in the Greater Toronto Hockey League. Will is a third-year university student now, and I really miss the years I spent driving him to arenas. So this was a nostalgic purchase. Unfortunately, the only lesson to be drawn from these mats is not to buy with your heart: they weren’t good. The surface was slippery, they didn’t fit any of the cars well, and the price was high for what I got. Patriotism only goes so far: I felt like giving Plasticolor Team Canada’s a Mat Misconduct penalty

Motomaster

Four-piece set

Canadian Tire: $11.99

At less than $12 for a four-piece set, this looked like a bargain – at least until I actually tried them out. These were clearly the worst of all the mats I tested. They were thin and slippery, and had no ribbing to keep water from running over the sides. The mats slipped around on the floor, and often ended up bunched in a corner, where they were even more useless than they were in the first place. The cost per mat was less than $3 (there are four in the set). Unfortunately, this is a case of getting what you pay for. (Garbage bags are even cheaper, and might work better.)

No-Name

Universal-fit carpet mats

Four-piece set

Planet Car Wash: $12

I spotted these mats at a downtown Toronto car wash. They had the cheap look of knockoffs produced in a back-alley Chinese factory. (The lack of a brand name tells you something.) At $12, these cost one cent more than the Motomaster mats I bought at Canadian Tire. The No-Names worked better than the Motomasters, but that isn’t saying much. These mats were nothing more than generic, plastic-backed carpets. They offered more protection than no mat at all, but their fit was poor, and they had no raised side rails lips to keep water from spilling out.

Ed Hardy

Bling mat

Two-piece set

Walmart: $24.97

If you’re a driver who can’t live without airbrushed hearts and skulls, this is the mat for you. But if you’re a driver who actually wants to protect their floors from snow and salt, look elsewhere. The Ed Hardy was all form, no function. Well, not much function, at least. This is a basic carpet mat with a waterproof backing. The carpeting absorbed a small amount of water, but most of the liquid went over the sides and onto the floors.

Verdict: Not Recommended (unless you absolutely need your floor to look like it was decorated by Axl Rose’s tattoo artist).

The Winner

Weathertech digital floor liners

Front and rear set

Weathertech.ca: $216.90

More than 100 readers wrote to me about these, praising them as the ultimate winter solution. I soon saw why so many people liked them – these mats were in a category of their own, and they won my road test hands-down. Each mat is custom-made for a specific car, and drops into the foot well with an exact fit. (Weathertech engineers scan each vehicle with lasers and create aluminum moulds that are used to form the vinyl mats.) I installed the Weathertechs in our 2002 Honda, and they worked perfectly. The high sides didn’t let a drop of water spill over, and the precision fit kept them locked in place. This isn’t a cheap product, but if you care for your car, they’re worth every penny.